Views required on vitamin D-rich yeast

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is calling for views on the application for a vitamin D-rich baker’s yeast to be marketed as a ‘novel food ingredient’.

A ‘novel food’ is one that doesn’t have a significant history of consumption in the EU before 15 May 1997.

The FSA’s Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) has considered an application from Canadian company Lallemand for approval to market the yeast as such, with views wanted on the committee’s draft opinion that this yeast should be approved for use.

In Lallemand’s application, it stated the yeast would primarily be used in the leavening of bread, and in food supplements. The yeast is treated with UV light to enhance its vitamin D content.

The same yeast has already been approved for use in bread products in Canada and the US.